How Tiger's Got Their Stripes
by Mintheart
Summary: Haven't you wondered how tigers got their stripes? This is based off of the part in Secerts of the Clans, but I used different names and a little bit different of a storyline. Would love reviews
1. Chapter 1

"Oh how I hate those lions, always gloating about their manes." Growled Sol. It was the Gathering tonight and even though there was a truce to keep peace, Sol unsheathed his claws and they dug into the ground. Sol was a strong, muscular tiger, but like all of the other tigers at this time he had no stripes. At the gatherings all the different prides of cats shared news about what was happening within their prides.

He pricked his ears when his leader started to speak, " Why must you act like you rule over all of us?" Star, leader of the tigers snarled at Brazier, the leader of the lions. Sol sighed; this was a common argument between the leaders.

"Why would you say something like that Star?" said Brazier fluffing up his mane smugly. " You know I try to be equal to everybody. We have more mouths to feed so sometimes we have to hunt on other prides' territories.

" No you don't!" snarled Sol, as the deputy or the next in line to lead his pride, he had the right to speak up. "You just think your better than us because of your beautiful golden mane." Sneered Sol, his fur bristling.

"Stop! The clouds have covered the moon. It's a sign for the Gathering to end." Yowled Birch, healer of the tigers.

Sol ran out of the clearing in fury; ahead of everyone else and headed towards the lion's camp. It started raining. _Yes,_ thought Sol, _the rain will cover up my scent._

Sol waited in the brush for a good moment to sneak in. Finally, all of the lions that stayed in camp went to the entrance to greet the lions coming back from the gathering. He crept along the brambles to the nursery where the kits were. Once he entered, he grabbed Frost, Brazier's only daughter, and ran out of camp.

Once he got to a clearing inside of his territory he set Frost down. His neck ached from carrying the struggling kit and running at the same time.

" Who are you?" asked Frost, confused.

"My name is Sol." He replied. He thought it wouldn't matter if she knew his name; Frost was only a few moons old.

"What are we doing here? You don't have a mane, what are you?" questioned Frost.

_She must have never seen a tiger before, _Thought Sol.

"We are playing a game. Your dad wanted to see if you can sneak into the tiger's camp." Sol come up with quickly.

"Ooooo," said Frost, her eyes glowing with excitement. "Lets get started."

"Follow me." Said Sol pointing his tail in the direction she needed to go.

It wasn't long before they were at camp. "This will make the lions respect us, kidnapping their leader's only kit." Murmured Sol, his whiskers twitching with confidence.

Frost was so tired after her little adventure that she collapsed, exhausted. Sol grabbed her by the scruff and padded up to Star's den.

"Come in." said Star.

Sol entered and dropped Frost at Star's feet. Frost shrunk back, intimidated by Star.

"What is this? Braziers ' only daughter! This will cause rivalry between the prides for moons! Take her back now, how dare you to go behind my back like this!" yelled Star, eyes blazing in fury.

"Do you know how hard it was to get this kit without being seen? It will make the lions finally respect us." Replied Sol challenging Star.

Frost crouched down as if she wanted to sink into the ground; she thought Sol was her friend.

" I don't care how hard it was, you will take her back now. That's an order!"

"Fine!" Hissed Sol and he roughly picked up Frost.

Sol padded back to the lions camp and told Frost to go into camp and act like nothing ever happened and that she was there the whole time. He didn't leave until he saw Wisp, Frost's mother, come up a start to frantically lick her daughter.

Once this scene unfolded before him he left, tail drooping, wishing he could of successfully carried out his plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is really short i'm sorry. More on the way.**

It was a moon later and the full moon was high in the sky symbolizing the next gathering. Star lead the group of tigers and Sol followed closely behind and Mist, Sol's mate, flanked him. They swiftly reached the clearing where the Gathering would take place. Star jumped onto the rock along with Brazier and the leaders of the leopards and the cheetahs.

" I will start." Said Brazier and he pushed his way to the front of the rock. He paused a moment, then shot a glaring look at Star and yelled, "Kidnappers!"

"I have no ides what you're talking about." Snarled Star.

"Then why does my kit, Frost, say that the night after the last gathering a tiger named Sol took her to your camp. She heard your conversation with Sol about how this would supposedly raise our respect for the tigers. All you seemed to have done is lower it. What do you have to say for this?" Brazier challenged.

Sol felt all of the cats eyes glaring at him and he looked down at his paws, too embarrassed to meet anyone's gaze. _She wasn't supposed to tell anyone. _Thought Sol.

" He acted without my permission, we returned Frost before she was missed. We didn't harm her in any way." Replied Star coolly.

" Still, all the tigers must be punished." Said Brazier.

" I agree. I wouldn't want someone stealing my kits just for respect." Said Dak, leader of the cheetahs.

Leaf, leader of the leopards, nodded her head in agreement.

The three leaders huddled together, discussing what the tiger's fate should be. Finally, Brazier sat up and said, "The tigers will be banished for a moon to the Land of Shadows."

Star growled, " Fine, we will leave at dawn."

"I will send some cats to escort you there." Snapped Brazier. "This Gathering is over."

Sol stayed at the back of the group of tigers going back to camp. Only Mist stayed back with him, her tail curled around his shoulders as she comforted him.

Once they got back to camp Star asked for Sol to come to her den. "You know this is all your fault. The Land of Shadows, its terrible only a few cats came back from it alive when they were banished there and even then they went crazy. They were never the same. Do you want the same thing to happen to us? This is what happens when you go behind your leaders back." Star snapped, curling her lip.

"You didn't have to say it so harshly," murmured Sol.

" Leave, I don't want to see your face any more," Star said with no remorse.

When Sol padded out of the den he saw how all of the cats stayed away from him._ Star is probably going to make a new deputy. Who would follow my orders if they hated me?_ Said Sol suddenly wishing he didn't steal Frost. He was not hungry due to shame so he went to his nest and fell asleep. He soon felt Mist's pelt brush his.

At least one cat still respected him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Wake up Sol," purred Mist, "It's time to leave."

Sol dreaded what was about to come; he stayed up all night thinking about it. He stretched and yawned and headed out to the clearing. He saw three lions Suki, Flame, and Petal whom he recognized from Gatherings. All the Tigers slowly woke up and crawled into the clearing. They were not eager about the Land of Shadows.

Star got everyone' attention and said, " You all know where we are about to go, but I know we can survive this. We will come back the next moon stronger than ever."

Sol could sense that theses were empty words, but it encouraged his pride mates. He knew they could surly die. _Why did they have to give us such a harsh punishment for stealing a kit? We weren't going to hurt her._ Thought Sol.

Star flicked her tail for the tigers to follow her lead out of the camp. The lions positioned themselves in a triangle on the outside of the group making sure no one stayed behind.

The tigers crossed through the moors on the cheetah's territory. Sol saw a few hiss and back away from the Tigers. They clearly wanted nothing to do with them. Waves of self-doubt pulsed through Sol. _If only I didn't cause this to happen to my pride. I should of thought it through. _Thought Sol.

The Tigers knew about where the Land of Shadows was but not exactly. They climbed up a hill and then they saw it. The inky black darkness was overwhelming. Even Star shrunk back.

" We see you have made it here safely. We have done our job. Goodbye." Said Suki, trying to hide the fear in her voice. The other lions closely followed her away from the swelling darkness.

Star crept down the hill; Sol followed her to the wall of black. Sol put a paw experimentally forward into the blackness. _It felt normal. Lets hope it's not as bad as we have heard. Otherwise most of us will die. _Thought Sol.

"Great StarClan, it's darker than a fox heart." Whispered Star.

" It's safe," Sol called nervously to the cats.

The pride cautiously crept forward and stepped into the choking shadows.

" It's so wet and dark." Said Rose, a kit.

"The shadows are so thick I could cut it with my claw." Said Flower in awe.

They traveled on for a while and then found a clearing where their temporary camp could be.

"Flower, Bracken, and Sun." said Sol calling out to the tigers, " Go explore this new territory. Also catch any prey you can. Prey will probably be hard to come by."

"Got it," said Bracken and the selected cats followed him into the dark trees.

"The rest of you, find somewhere to settle and make yourself at home."

" If it's even possible." Complained Holly, an elder, once everyone went off to explore the clearing.

_She is probably right. _Thought Sol. _Can we ever survive here?_


	4. Chapter 4

**This is one of my longer chapters, thanks to those who reviewed. I love all reviews. Please review. This is actually a stroy that I had to write for school. Any typos or ways I could improve it would be wonderful. I'm trying to leave out the whole StarClan things because I think that would be hard for people to understand.**

**I do not own Warriors, just the plot of theis story and some of the names.**

It was a few days after the tigers had arrived in the Land of Shadows and they were already having trouble. Sol was on a hunting patrol with Flower and Bracken, the shadows dappling their pelts. Sol plodded forward; his stomach was growling, most of the tigers had not eaten in days. Prey was scare here and the small amount of prey that was caught was divided between the elders and the cats with kits. One kit had already died and Sol was afraid that there would probably be more.

Suddenly Bracken held up his tail, a silent signal to stop, and flicked his ears in the direction of a mouse. The mouse was barely a mouthful for these hungry tigers, but every piece counted and nothing could go to waste. Bracken crouched down and crept forward. He ran ,his huge paw slammed down on the small mouse, breaking its spine. He swept dirt over it so they could pick it up on their way back.

Sol went to the front of the patrol and soon scented a rabbit that had the misfortune of wandering into this terrible place. _Yes! Thank goodness. Finally we might have something worth bringing back to camp._ Thought Sol. He successfully caught it. He fastened his teeth into its throat and sent Bracken to get his mouse as they went back to camp.

Once they were back in camp Sol went to Star's den .Sol dropped the rabbit at Stars feet. "Here" he said to Star, "Eat."

Sol could see the hunger in her eyes, but she refrained "No the pride must be fed first. I will eat last."

Sol knew there was no point in forcing her so he put it on the small pile of fresh-kill for others to eat. He grabbed a thrush and trotted off to where Mist was sitting. "Want to share this with me?"

"Sure." Said Mist, her green eyes locking with Sol's amber ones.

They crouched down and plucked the feathers off. They were both famished and knew this wouldn't fill them up, but it would help.

"Thanks" said Mist rubbing her head against Sol's muzzle and padding off.

Sol went to see Star and ask if there was something needing to be done. He walked into her den with a mouse to hopefully get her to eat. She was laying on her side, her pelt matted and her eyes dull. He saw how thin she was. He did not recognize this before when he brought her prey since she was in the shadows. "Star, you need to eat."

"No, there is no point. I am dying." Star said, her voice cracking.

Sol knew she was old, but he didn't think it was her time to go. " No, Star please don't die. They had grown close. Sol had been deputy for many seasons.

Bracken padded in. His eyes grew with shock with what he just heard. "I'll get Birch."

"No, it is my time." Whispered Star, her eyes turning to Sol. "Sorry I was so hard on you, I forgive you for going behind my back, I would of done the same thing. You will be a great leader." Star shuddered, breathing her last breath.

"No!" wailed Sol, burying his nose into her fur, breathing in her already fading scent.

**Kind of a quick ending, didn't know quite how to sum it me if the whole Star dying thing was cheesy and help me improve. REVEIW**


	5. Chapter 5

**How many times do I have to say this. REVIEW! I love criticism. I what to heard your input PLEASE. sorry had a bit to much caffeine this morning.**

_Why did she have to die? _Thought Sol._This was all my fault. I got us banished here"_

"What happened? I heard you wailing," asked Flower. Her fur bristled at the sight of Star's body. "Is she really dead?"

"Yes," said Bracken, dipping his head in silent grief.

Sol and Bracken dragged Star's body out into the clearing and Flower called everyone out into the clearing and told them what happened. You could of heard a leaf drop, everyone was stricken with grief, The tigers went up, one at a time, and pressed their nose into her fur, saying how much they would miss her and praising her for things she did in the past.

"I guess your leader now, Sol," said Lily.

_I am,_ thought Sol._ I forgot. What will I do? I don't know how to lead this pride._ He thought this over and realized, _I got them into this mess; I should be able to get out of it._

He looked up and saw that everyone was waiting for him to speak. "Yes, I guess I am leader," said Sol, giving his chest a few comforting licks.

"Congratulations," purred Mist walking up to him and twining her tail with his. The other tigers slowly went up and wished him luck in leadership and congratulating him.

"Who will be the deputy?" questioned a cat hidden by the crowd.

It only took Sol a heartbeat for him to choose, "Bracken will be the next deputy. I trust you will do the best for this pride."

_Who else was there to pick but the cat that was there for me when I needed. He is smart, loyal, and strong,_ thought Sol.

"Thank you," said Bracken, clearly shocked that he was chosen, "I will do my best to help lead this pride during this hard time."

_Good words. I made the right choice,_ thought Sol, reviewing his decision.

Cats came up to congratulate the promoted cats while the elders groomed Star's body to prepare it for burial.

Sol padded out of camp and into the jungle to hunt. Hunting always helped him to think about what was going on. He soon caught a bird and settled down beside a bramble thicket and ate it. He had not gotten much sleep and he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Dreams of being back in his territory with plenty of prey and patches of sun danced across his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry that this is so short. I needed to do a major time skip and didn't know quite what to write about. This will only have 8 chapters, so I am almost !**

They had been in the Land of Shadows for almost two weeks. There was barley enough food to go around. Two more kits had died along with an elder. Everyone was tired from all of the hunting patrols. On average, the patrols only brought back one or two pieces of scrawny, thin prey.

Sol was talking to Bracken and Mist about ways to maximize hunting patrols, "We need to go father into the forest and find prey that doesn't know we are here," said Bracken, "We might want patrols of more cats so we can cover more territory and possibly bring back more prey."

"Good idea," said Sol, " Start implementing that on the next patrol sent out."

Bracken dipped his head and went off to order a patrol and share the new guidelines.

"You're doing a good job as leader you know," commented Mist, "Star couldn't of done better."

"Thanks. I feel like this is my fault. I'm the one who stole Frost and cast this doom upon us," said Sol.

"You were just trying to think of what was best for your pride. You may not have handled it correctly, but you were not disloyal," replied Mist cocking her head to the side

As she this Sol saw a hunting patrol coming back dragging two rabbits. _So Bracken's theory worked,_ thought Sol, _Maybe we will eat more than a mouthful tonight._


	7. Chapter 7

**REVIEW**

Finally, today was the day they were leaving the Land of Shadows. Sol called all the tigers to the clearing. He looked down on them from the rock he was perched on. He saw a difference in these cats than before they came here. These cats were stronger and wise. They were defiantly worthy of being back in their territory. They had lost three kits, an elder, and Star to starvation, but the ones who survived grew stronger. They were used to doing normal tasks on an empty stomach. They were strong enough not to die of starvation for they had caught almost all of what little prey there was. They did not go crazy either as some cats had come back from this place.

Sol stood and spoke, " We have gotten stronger and now we shouldn't have a problem in winter. Today we are going back to our home. Yowls of agreement were cast.

Sol flicked his ears for the cats to follow him back to their home. They walked through the shadows as they reached the edge. They saw the light coming closer, the separation between them and real life.

Rose, the only kit that survived, ran ahead of Sol, eager to get out. They stepped across the border of the Land of Shadows and squinted, letting their eye adjust to the harsh light. They had been in darkness for a moon. They picked up the pace; they couldn't wait to get back to their camp. They flooded across the brambles at the entrance. The elders flopped down in the sun, the Rose and her mom went to the nursery, and some of the tigers went to their dens white others stayed in the clearing, ready to go on a patrol.

_It's good to be home,_ thought Sol as he lay down in the sun.

"Tonight is the Gathering, remember?" asked Mist as she settled down beside him.

"Yes, I remembered," Sol sighed, " Isn't it nice to just lay out in the sun?"

"Yes I missed this," Said Mist, " What will you say at the Gathering?"

" I will announce the loss of Star and the others, but say that we are still strong," Sol responded.

"Got it," Said Mist they both dozed off.

**Yay, another lame ending.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes a short chapter, but it is the last one. Please REVIEW, please.**

It was time for the Gathering before Sol knew is. They all ate and Sol gathered the tigers and trotted off to the clearing where the Gathering would happen. As they walked into the clearing everyone else gasped. "What?" asked Sol, "Are you surprised we are still alive?"

"Yes, that you are alive, but one thing. You have stripes," spoke Dak.

"We do?" murmured the tiger as they looked at one another. They had not noticed this until now. They were in the Land of Shadows and were surrounded by shadows, so they couldn't see the stripes and they were busy once they got back to camp.

Sol said in a matter-a-fact tone " Yes, we do have stripes, I guess they are from being in the shadows for so long.

All the leaders shared the news from their pride and Sol shared the news of Star's death, "She will be missed by all," said Leaf.

The tigers, now with stripes, went back to camp. Sol was no longer jealous of the lion, as you're the other tigers. The tigers had something that the lions didn't: stripes.

Sol and the tigers continued to thrive and Sol was even, more proud when he saw two little kits, his kits, suckling at Mist's belly. He had two kits, the first ever tigers born with stripes.

**yay for happy endings. please let me know if that sucked, because it probably did.**

**~Mintheart**

**this story is now complete (selects complete option dramatically)**


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